Horns, horses, clash as riders, residents collide

A horse in one of the stables at Pine Hollow equestrian center in Parkland.… (Carline Jean, Sun Sentinel )

June 17, 2013|By Robert Nolin and Lisa J. Huriash, Sun Sentinel

Friction can arise when South Florida's ever-expanding suburbs rub up against those few remaining rural pockets where horses, and often other livestock, roam.

In Parkland, the culture clash has degenerated into a range war, with some residents blaring car and air horns at horses in pastures and along roadways — actions that can cause a mount to throw its rider.

"They're showing their frustration by doing these stunts," said Howard Dvorkin, of Parkland, whose Pine Hollow horse center has become the focus of some neighbors' rancor in The Ranches subdivision. "It's sad that people go to this extent."

One nearby resident, Laura Laramee, 47, was cited for screeching her white Mercedes to a halt next to four Pine Hollow riders on May 31, including two girls, ages 7 and 5. Police said she honked her horn and shouted, "Get off my street" and "Go back where you belong."

Sheriff's Deputy R. S. Kenny charged her with failure to use appropriate care upon approaching horses. "It should be noted that this incident is one of several similar types of incidents wherein certain residents of The Ranches, including Laura Laramee and her husband, have been reported to be intentionally making loud noises to startle the horses at Pine Hollow," Kenny wrote in a five-page report.

"That's a terribly dangerous thing for her to have done. There have been people killed where a perfectly good horse, kind and safe, is just absolutely terrified," said Charlotte Kneeland, director of the American Riding Instructors Association.

"Hopefully this is the last time it happens," said Dvorkin. "The police have put their foot down on this type of behavior."

Laramee and her husband, Barry, along with the residents of two other households, Mike Donnelly and Mark and Lisa Caputo, are suing the city of Parkland for allowing Pine Hollow to be expanded two years. Laramee did not return calls for comment. Mark Caputo, emergency room chief at Holy Cross Hospital in Fort Lauderdale, referred calls to the group's attorney, Walter "Skip" Campbell.

The lawyer said Pine Hollow is incompatible with the surrounding neighborhood, generates traffic and spills out light at night. "It has manure problems and it has nuisance problems," Campbell said. "Horses traveling too close to the roadway, where it makes it a danger for people to drive."

City officials have said they're bound by Florida's Farm Act, which prohibits cities from regulating equestrian communities, or limiting their growth.

"Is there a feud? Yeah," Campbell said. "When you buy a house in such a nice area as Parkland you would hope you're buying a private residence you can enjoy with your family. These folks can't."

Similar sentiments are reflected in other suburbanites who find themselves too close to horse or livestock farms. "When neighbors come in proximity with the horse farms, that's when the trouble begins," said Julie Aitken, owner of Oakridge Farm in Davie. "The people who buy the big mansions don't want the farm animals in the vicinity."

Conflicts between suburbanite and equestrian occur all over South Florida. "There have been situations where a neighbor was not pleased there were horses next door," said Adrian Rowles, owner of Black Swan Stables in Wellington.

"They think it's funny to come up and beep behind a horse," said Linda Cook, with Willowood Stables in Greenacres, where townhouses crowd the property line. "They'll be throwing things over the fence into the pasture, bottles, jars, childish stuff."

Wellington has even posted warnings. "They have signs up about honking and being careful around horses alongside the road," Cook said.

Southwest Ranches, whose motto is "Preserving Our Rural Lifestyle," also sees skirmishes between resident and rider. "I've had people go by and pound on their car door to see if they could spook the horse," said small farm owner Kathy Cox. "They won't cut the rider any slack."

Kathy Sullivan, another Southwest Ranches small farm owner, said most residents get along, and their co-existence is a learning process.

"Is there friction? Yes, there's friction," she said. "We're struggling to learn to live together, the people that like to live in the rural areas versus the McMansions."

Urban planner Ned Murray, associate director of the Metropolitan Center at Florida Atlantic University, said homeowners, many affluent and bearing an entitlement mentality, can become resentful after moving into a new neighborhood without fully understanding its nature.

"These tensions do exist, and not just here but in many locations throughout the country," he said. "You have communities that have established a certain character and culture. Anyone moving in who doesn't understand what these communities were all about obviously didn't do their homework."

Or as Sullivan put it: "Don't build your house next to a farm and then complain about the noise and smell."

Davie, which has 150-some miles of horse trails, hitching posts outside businesses, and a rodeo arena, has addressed those resident-rider tensions. The town has a special designation for small, private farms, called hobby farms, that protects them from complaints.

"It actually alleviates them from being harassed by neighbors because they are unhappy with what's going on next door," Mayor Judy Paul said. "We try to co-exist with all kinds of development."

Then there's the simple solution advocated by Catey Stomski, owner of Willowood Stables in Greenacres: "Good fences make good neighbors."